Wolfpack gains revenge: Seething N.C. State upends Wake Forest

Published: Thursday, March 7, 2013 at 12:57 AM.

N.C. State’s defense slacked off in the second half after the Wolfpack stretched its lead to as many as 24 with 13:42 left. In one stretch, the Demon Deacons scored on 12 out of 13 possessions.

The problem for Wake Forest was that in the stretch of offensive efficiency, the Demon Deacons were unable to secure enough defensive stops and only came within 16 of the Wolfpack.

“We came out and started playing well but we had that little lapse where they started to get a few easy ones,” Wood said. “They were shooting 68 percent there in the second half for a little while so, we just have to do a better job of stepping on their throat and finishing the game.”

After a few helter-skelter moments of back-and-forth scoring, the teams slowed down and N.C. State was able to coast for the last six minutes, giving Gottfried a chance to substitute Wood and Howell out of the game together, with the crowd of 16,892 rising for a standing ovation.

With about three minutes left, the N.C. State student section started a few “We want Jay” chants. At 2:06, seldom-used senior Jay Lewis checked in. The first time he touched the ball, Lewis calmly stroked a 3-pointer from the right wing, whipping the crowd into a cheer usually reserved for highlight dunks seen so many times this season.

Wake Forest coach Jeff Bzdelik said his team has struggled with a couple things during a stretch in which his team has lost nine of its last 11 games.

RALEIGH — On Senior Night at PNC Arena, North Carolina State had a bit of unfinished business with Wake Forest.

So the Wolfpack made it personal and blitzed Wake Forest in an 81-66 victory in Atlantic Coast Conference action Wednesday night.

“They beat us at their home and we wanted to get revenge,” Wolfpack senior Richard Howell said. “We feel like they got away with one over there and we wanted to prove that was a fluke.”

Howell struggled through a few emotions, he admitted, on the night he was honored before the game. The 6-foot-8 forward scored nine points and pulled in five rebounds, tying his lowest rebound total of his season.

Fellow senior Scott Wood also struggled, as the second-leading 3-point shooter in N.C. State history made just 1 of 5 from beyond the arc and finished with eight points.

But the balanced Wolfpack (22-8 overall, 11-6 ACC) didn’t need Howell or Wood at their best, with C.J. Leslie bouncing his way to a line of 19 points, 10 rebounds, four blocked shots and four assists.

“I thought he was really unselfish, he rebounded well, he didn’t have a turnover,” N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried said of Leslie. “Blocked four shots and was a lot more active. I liked his pressure on the ball, so it was nice to see him play well.”

Earlier this season, N.C. State wound up on the losing end of an 86-84 after leading by 12 at halftime against Wake Forest.

When the Wolfpack took a 15-point advantage into the halftime break Wednesday night, there was a reminder from Gottfried of what happened back in January.

“It was definitely personal,” Howell said. “We made it known that they put up 51 points in that last game in the second half and we wanted to come out strong. It was definitely mentioned (at halftime).”

Wake Forest (12-17, 5-12) led for most of the first eight minutes of the game, jumping out to a 14-9 lead with 11:42 before halftime. It was stretch highlighted by two C.J. Harris 3s from the same spot on the right wing separated by 1:02, both over Wood.

But after the Demon Deacons took its five-point lead at the under-12 media timeout, N.C. State responded with a 19-2 run in the next 7:14.

“Once we got going, guys got their second wind. We were rolling after that,” said N.C. State’s Rodney Purvis, who finished with 14 points.

In the last 4½ minutes of the first half, Leslie sprung to life with nine points to boost N.C. State into halftime with a 39-24 lead.

N.C. State’s defense slacked off in the second half after the Wolfpack stretched its lead to as many as 24 with 13:42 left. In one stretch, the Demon Deacons scored on 12 out of 13 possessions.

The problem for Wake Forest was that in the stretch of offensive efficiency, the Demon Deacons were unable to secure enough defensive stops and only came within 16 of the Wolfpack.

“We came out and started playing well but we had that little lapse where they started to get a few easy ones,” Wood said. “They were shooting 68 percent there in the second half for a little while so, we just have to do a better job of stepping on their throat and finishing the game.”

After a few helter-skelter moments of back-and-forth scoring, the teams slowed down and N.C. State was able to coast for the last six minutes, giving Gottfried a chance to substitute Wood and Howell out of the game together, with the crowd of 16,892 rising for a standing ovation.

With about three minutes left, the N.C. State student section started a few “We want Jay” chants. At 2:06, seldom-used senior Jay Lewis checked in. The first time he touched the ball, Lewis calmly stroked a 3-pointer from the right wing, whipping the crowd into a cheer usually reserved for highlight dunks seen so many times this season.

Wake Forest coach Jeff Bzdelik said his team has struggled with a couple things during a stretch in which his team has lost nine of its last 11 games.

“Our inability to defend and get defensive rebounds, and take care of the ball,” Bzdelik said. “We work on it, but we are our own worse enemy. The effort and attention are there, we just need to do better.”

-- TIP-INS …: Devin Thomas led Wake Forest with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Travis McKie added 12 points. … Wednesday night marked Leslie’s ninth double-double of the season and first in the last four games. … This marks the first time N.C. State has defeated Duke, North Carolina and Wake Forest at home in the same season since the 1988-89 season. … In three seasons, Bzdelik’s road record in ACC games is 1-24. … Wake Forest was without freshman point guard Codi Miller-McIntyre, who didn’t make the trip because of strep throat. Freshman Madison Jones started in his place and scored 10 points and dished out six assists. … Purvis hit three 3s in the game after making just one in the last seven games. ... Wood, a senior, trails Rodney Monroe by nine 3-pointers for the most career in N.C. State history.